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Hurstville, New South Wales
| area = 4.2 | stategov = Kogarah, Oatley | fedgov = Banks | near-nw = Beverly Hills | near-n = Kingsgrove | near-ne = Bexley | near-w = Penshurst | near-e = Carlton | near-sw = Hurstville Grove | near-s = South Hurstville | near-se = Allawah | dist1 = 16 | dir1 = south | location1= Sydney CBD }} Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Hurstville. Hurstville has become a central business district for the southern suburbs of Sydney. It is a large, multiethnic suburb with a multitude of commercial buildings and high-rise residential buildings dominating the skyline. Hurstville's residential developments are a mixture of low-density housing, medium-density flats, and high-density apartment buildings. As a commercial centre, it features branches of many retail shops as well as numerous banks and other financial institutions. History The name "Hurstville" is derived from the English "hurst", meaning "a wooded eminence", and "ville", "town".City of Hurstville - History of Hurstville Aboriginal culture Although it is unknown when they first settled in the Hurstville area, the first inhabitants were Australian Aborigines. At the time of the arrival of the First Fleet, the Aborigines residing in the area were of the Eora tribe, whose numbers spanned along the Georges River, from Botany Bay to present-day Liverpool. European settlement The land of the Hurstville region was granted by the government of the new colony of New South Wales to two men; Captain John Townson and his brother Robert Townson in 1808. Captain John Townson was granted 1950 acres (7.9 km²) of land which is now occupied by the suburb of Hurstville and part of Bexley. Robert Townson was granted the land which is now occupied by Penshurst, Mortdale and parts of Peakhurst. In the same year, in the area now known as Riverwood land grants were made to Jane Trotter, Mary Shepley, Charles Doudall, and James Ryan. Later in 1816 another land grant in the same area was given to Mary Redman. In 1809, Captain John Townson was granted an additional 250 acres (1 km²) in the area now occupied by Kingsgrove and Beverly Hills. The Townson brothers were not happy with the land that they were given because it was not suitable for the farming of sheep for wool and it is likely that the brothers never occupied their land. In 1812, a wealthy merchant named Simeon Lord bought the land of Captain John Townson and named it Lord's Forest. When Lord, died the land became the property of John Rose Holden and James Holt of the Bank of NSW. Development A dam with a roadway on top was constructed on the Cooks River at Tempe in 1839. In 1843, the road that was to become known as Forest Road was extended from the dam to a hand-winched punt in Lugarno. On the other side of the river, the road continued all the way to Wollongong; however, it was only suitable for travellers on horseback. The new road opened up the Hurstville region and created a settlement at Bottle Forest, now known as Heathcote. In 1850, the Lord Forest estate was purchased by Michael Gannon (1800–61), who subdivided it into small farms along what is now Croydon Road and three larger farms that were purchased by Dent, Peake, and Ibbotson. The area became known as Gannon's Forest. The land originally granted to Robert Townson was purchased by John Connell in 1830 and, following his death in 1849, the estate was inherited by his grandsons, Elias Pearson Laycock and John Connell Laycock. The Gannon's Forest post office opened in 1881. The local school was named "Hurstville" by School Inspector MacIntyre when it was established in 1876. When the railway station opened on 15 October 1884, it took the name Hurstville, from the school. Hurstville municipality was incorporated in 1887 and, in 1988, Hurstville was declared a city. The Centenary Bakery on Forest Road is a historic building that has been preserved and once housed a museum. The St George Regional Museum is now located in another historic building in MacMahon Street. The Hurstville train crash on 3 August 1920 resulted in five people killed and fifty injured. It involved the collision of two steam trains, one arriving from Central plunged into the back of the other bound that was stationary at Hurstville railway station, bound for Sutherland.Pollon, F. (1990.) The Book of Sydney Suburbs, Angus & Robertson Publishers, Sydney, p. 130. Commercial area Hurstville's commercial area is centred around the main street, Forest Road, on the northern side of Hurstville Railway station. The commercial developments also extend to surrounding streets concentrated from Queens Road to The Avenue and on the southern side of Hurstville Railway station, around Ormonde Parade. The commercial developments extend further along Forest Road, west towards Penshurst and east towards Bexley. Westfield Hurstville is the largest shopping centre in the St George area. It is built over three blocks and stretches from Forest Road over Crofts Street, Park Avenue to The Avenue. Hurstville Central (formerly the 'Hurstville SupaCentre') is a small shopping centre on top of Hurstville Railway station, which has recently undergone total refurbishment. It links Forest Road with Ormonde Parade. The administrative offices of the City of Hurstville are located in the Hurstville Civic Centre in MacMahon Street. This street also features a number of historic buildings such as the Friendly Pharmacy, old Fire Station, Ritz Hotel and the St George Regional Museum, which houses the cake decorating collection formerly held at the Australian Cakes and Sugar Art Museum. Hurstville City Library is located nearby on Queens Road. Arts and culture The St Clair Recording Studio operated for about a year from December 1965 to December 1966 and recorded the Bee Gees among other musicians.Hurstville City Council - The St Clair Recording Studio AC/DC played at the Hurstville Civic Centre in 1977. A karaoke place opened in 2011 near the Meridian Hotel, the first ever one in Hurstville. Transport Hurstville railway station is a major station on the Illawarra line of the City Rail network. All suburban and most interurban trains stop at Hurstville. Hurstville is 20 minutes from Sydney Central railway station on the express service. Hurstville is a major bus interchange with bus services departing from Forest Road and Ormonde Parade. Churches * St Georges Anglican Church, St Michaels Catholic Church, Hurstville Presbyterian Church, Hurstville Church of Christ, Hurstville Uniting Church, Hurstville Seventh-day Adventist Church, Hurstville Assemblies of God, Salvation Army, Church of the Living God. Image: Hurstville Uniting Church.JPG|Hurstville Uniting Church Image: Hurstville Church 1.JPG|Hurstville Presbyterian Church Image: Hurstville Church 2.JPG|Church of Christ Image: Hurstville Church 3.JPG|Hurstville Baptist Church Image:St Michaels Bexley 1.JPG|St Michaels Catholic Church Image:St Michaels Bexley 2.JPG|St Michaels day care centre Image: Bethany College Bexley 3.JPG|Convent of St Mary's Star of the Sea Image:Hurstville Anglican Church.JPG|St Georges Anglican Church Schools * Hurstville Adventist School, Hurstville Boys High School, Hurstville Public School, Danebank Anglican Girls School, Bethany College, Beverly Hills Public School and St George Christian School. Sydney Technical High School, Bethany College and St. Mary's Star of the Sea are located just over the border in Bexley. Image: Hurstville Public School.JPG|Hurstville Public School Landmarks * Hurstville Civic Centre, Hurstville Entertainment Centre, Hurstville City Library, St George Regional Museum, Park Plaza Apartments Image: Hurstville Chemist.JPG|Friendly Pharmacy, MacMahon Street File:Centennial Bakery Building in Hurstville.jpg|Centenary Bakery, Forest Road Image: Hurst7.JPG|Old Fire Station, MacMahon Street Image:St George Regional Museum.JPG|Hurstville City Museum & Gallery Image: Hurstville Ritz.JPG|Hurstville Ritz Hotel, Forest Road Image: Hurstville_Meridian_Hotel.JPG|Hurstville Meridian Hotel, Forest Road Image: Hurstville_Entertainment_Centre.JPG |Hurstville Entertainment Centre Image: Hurstville_Civic Theatre.JPG |Hurstville Civic Theatre Image: Parkplazaapartmentshurstville.JPG| The Park Plaza Apartments Complex, Park Road Image:Hurstville building 1.JPG|former State Bank building, Hurstville Image:Hurstville building 3.JPG|MacMahon Street and Barratt Street, Hurstville Image:Hurstville City Council.jpg|Hurstville City Council Chambers Parks * Kempt Field, Woodville Park, Hurstville Park, Thorpe Park, Doyle Gardens. Image: Hurst3.JPG|Woodville Park Image: Hurst2.JPG|Hurstville Park Image:Hurstville Mosaic.JPG|Memorial Square mosaic, Forest Road Image:Hurstville Statue.JPG|Miles Franklin statue and mural in MacMahon Street Population Demographics The first European settlers in the area were mostly of British and Irish ancestry. From the late 1960s, Hurstville, like many surrounding areas, became home to migrants from all around the world. The first wave of migrants included Greeks and Italians who began moving south from Sydney's inner-city suburbs. They were followed by more European migrants, including many from the former Yugoslavia, such as Bosnians and Macedonians. From the 1990s, the Chinese community within Hurstville has grown considerably. Much of this was related to significant migration from Hong Kong during the 1990s and migration from Mainland China during the 2000s. Many local businesses are operated by people of Chinese background, the interests of which are advanced by the St. George Asian Business Association. Hurstville is a hub for Asian groceries, food and services. According to the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population, there were 26,040 residents in Hurstville. 68.4% stated they were born overseas, with the top countries of birth being China (34.2%), Hong Kong (4.6%), and Nepal (2.7%). English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 21.8% of residents and the most common other languages spoken were Mandarin (26.7%), Cantonese (20.4%), Greek (3.7%), and Arabic (3.6%). The most common responses for religious affiliation were no religion (35.6%), Catholic (15.0%), Buddhism (10.0%) and Orthodox (7.5%). The largest ancestry group was Chinese, reported by 47.5% of respondents, followed by English (7.6%), Australian (6.8%), and other or undeclared ancestry (38.1%). Notable residents * Ronald Ernest Aitchison - Physicist * Arthur Samuel Allen (1894-1959) - army officer and accountant Australian Dictionary of Biography * Ezekiel Alexander Baker (1823-1912) - politician Australian Dictionary of Biography * Sir Jack Brabham - Three-time Formula One World Champion motor racer * Richard Stanley (Dick) Charles (1901-1974) - spearfisherman and motor trader Australian Dictionary of Biography * Sir John Grenfell (Jack) Crawford (1910-1984) - economist, public servant and academic administrator Australian Dictionary of Biography * Thomas Vincent Dunlea (1894-1970) - Catholic priest Australian Dictionary of Biography * Ambrose George Enticknap (1894-1976) - orchardist and politician Australian Dictionary of Biography * Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin - Writer * Neville Hayes - Swimmer * Thomas John Ley (1880-1947) - politician and murderer Australian Dictionary of Biography * Jack Lindwall - Rugby league player for St George * Ray Lindwall - Australian Test cricketer, also played rugby league for St George; younger brother of Jack * Craig Nicholls - Musician * Eris Michael O'Brien (1895-1974) - Catholic archbishop and Australian historian Australian Dictionary of Biography * John Radecki (1865-1955) - stained-glass designer Australian Dictionary of Biography * Edward Henry Rembert (1902-1966) - architect Australian Dictionary of Biography * Gordon Stanley Reid (1923-1989) - parliamentary official, political scientist and governor Australian Dictionary of Biography * Thomas Wright (1902-1981) - sheet-metal worker and trade union official Australian Dictionary of Biography References * St George Regional Museum * City of Hurstville Council website * City of Hurstville Business website External links * City of Hurstville - History of Hurstville Category:Suburbs of Sydney Category:Ethnic enclaves in Australia Category:1887 establishments in Australia